Community Vitality and Rural Healthcare – Resources
Selected recent or important resources focusing on Community Vitality and Rural Healthcare.
Eradicating Rural Poverty: The Power of Cooperation
Series of articles describing how community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and other community development organizations have addressed persistent poverty and disinvestment in rural areas, including the Black Belt, tribal nations, and Appalachia. Discusses philanthropy, housing, availability of federal and private funding, and more.
Citation: Nonprofit Quarterly
Date: 2024
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Series of articles describing how community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and other community development organizations have addressed persistent poverty and disinvestment in rural areas, including the Black Belt, tribal nations, and Appalachia. Discusses philanthropy, housing, availability of federal and private funding, and more.
Citation: Nonprofit Quarterly
Date: 2024
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Small Towns, Big Opportunities
Report evaluating rural employment opportunities, defined as a "good job" based on income thresholds. Discusses labor force participation among men and women, as well as by race and ethnicity, educational attainment, disability, and more. Offers recommendations for rural growth through education, training opportunities, and emerging industries. Includes rural and urban comparisons in addition to county level maps for each state.
Additional links: State Maps
Author(s): Anthony P. Carnevale, Lulu Kam, Martin Van Der Werf
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organization: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce
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Report evaluating rural employment opportunities, defined as a "good job" based on income thresholds. Discusses labor force participation among men and women, as well as by race and ethnicity, educational attainment, disability, and more. Offers recommendations for rural growth through education, training opportunities, and emerging industries. Includes rural and urban comparisons in addition to county level maps for each state.
Additional links: State Maps
Author(s): Anthony P. Carnevale, Lulu Kam, Martin Van Der Werf
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organization: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce
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Community Health Partners in Unexpected Places
Examines how health systems partner with community services such as libraries, barber shops, dollar stores, and others to improve access and reduce health disparities in minority and rural populations. Discusses strategies to increase the use of community health partners, such as co-designing with input from the community, procuring funding, building awareness of available programs, and utilizing novel means to conduct day-to-day operations.
Author(s): Michael K. Hole, Sunjay Letchuman, Allister Chang, Leonard L. Berry
Citation: Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 98(12), 1883-1841
Date: 12/2023
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Examines how health systems partner with community services such as libraries, barber shops, dollar stores, and others to improve access and reduce health disparities in minority and rural populations. Discusses strategies to increase the use of community health partners, such as co-designing with input from the community, procuring funding, building awareness of available programs, and utilizing novel means to conduct day-to-day operations.
Author(s): Michael K. Hole, Sunjay Letchuman, Allister Chang, Leonard L. Berry
Citation: Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 98(12), 1883-1841
Date: 12/2023
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Matchmaking for Community Benefit: The Rural Partners Network Connects Rural Leaders With Federal Resources
Provides an overview of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Partners Network (RPN), which aims to coordinate rural-targeted capacity-building efforts across different federal agencies. Uses place-based economic development, capacity building, and coordination principles to evaluate the program's purpose, program design, and first 15 months of implementation. Describes rural economic development challenges and historical federal capacity-building efforts in rural areas. Offers recommendations for continued assessment and reporting and expanding the geographic reach of RPN.
Author(s): Jenny Tran, Mark Haggerty
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organization: Center for American Progress
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Provides an overview of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Partners Network (RPN), which aims to coordinate rural-targeted capacity-building efforts across different federal agencies. Uses place-based economic development, capacity building, and coordination principles to evaluate the program's purpose, program design, and first 15 months of implementation. Describes rural economic development challenges and historical federal capacity-building efforts in rural areas. Offers recommendations for continued assessment and reporting and expanding the geographic reach of RPN.
Author(s): Jenny Tran, Mark Haggerty
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organization: Center for American Progress
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BEAD Program Toolkit for Counties
Resource hub for county stakeholders working in broadband initiatives. Includes suggested action items, county-level data on broadband access, Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) related resources, webinars, and more.
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Counties
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Resource hub for county stakeholders working in broadband initiatives. Includes suggested action items, county-level data on broadband access, Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) related resources, webinars, and more.
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Counties
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A Road Map for Asset Based Investing in Central Appalachia
Report highlighting various wellbeing and community asset measures in the Appalachian region in the areas of economics, population health, infrastructure, housing, health facilities, and more. Discusses the associations between wellbeing and community assets as well as the implications for investment.
Date: 08/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky, Reinvestment Fund
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Report highlighting various wellbeing and community asset measures in the Appalachian region in the areas of economics, population health, infrastructure, housing, health facilities, and more. Discusses the associations between wellbeing and community assets as well as the implications for investment.
Date: 08/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky, Reinvestment Fund
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Four Mindsets for Funding Economic Mobility in the Black Rural South
Highlights opportunities for philanthropy to contribute to economic mobility in the Black rural South, based on conversations with nonprofit leaders, cooperative extension staff at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), funders, researchers, and others. Identifies 4 mindsets that, if changed, could impact the effectiveness and support of existing institutions that are already active in the Black rural South. Features statistics on per capita grantmaking from 2010-2014 with breakdowns including the Alabama Black Belt and Mississippi Delta region, Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia.
Author(s): Mike Soskis, Angie Estevez Prada, Mark McKeag, Rich Pierre, Cynthia Phoel
Date: 08/2023
Sponsoring organizations: National 4-H Council, The Bridgespan Group
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Highlights opportunities for philanthropy to contribute to economic mobility in the Black rural South, based on conversations with nonprofit leaders, cooperative extension staff at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), funders, researchers, and others. Identifies 4 mindsets that, if changed, could impact the effectiveness and support of existing institutions that are already active in the Black rural South. Features statistics on per capita grantmaking from 2010-2014 with breakdowns including the Alabama Black Belt and Mississippi Delta region, Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia.
Author(s): Mike Soskis, Angie Estevez Prada, Mark McKeag, Rich Pierre, Cynthia Phoel
Date: 08/2023
Sponsoring organizations: National 4-H Council, The Bridgespan Group
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Rural Partners Network - U.S. Treasury Programs Relevant to the U.S. Agriculture Rural Development
Webinar recording from the Rural Partners Network with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Treasury to highlight programs for rural and tribal communities from the Treasury. Discusses funding related to housing, broadband, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, and more. Transcript is available in the video description.
Date: 07/2023
Sponsoring organizations: U.S. Department of Treasury, USDA Rural Development
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Webinar recording from the Rural Partners Network with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Treasury to highlight programs for rural and tribal communities from the Treasury. Discusses funding related to housing, broadband, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, and more. Transcript is available in the video description.
Date: 07/2023
Sponsoring organizations: U.S. Department of Treasury, USDA Rural Development
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Advancing Economic Development in Persistent-Poverty Communities
Examines census tracts to identify areas of "persistent poverty," defined as an area with at least a 20% poverty rate for at least 30 years. Discusses the distribution of the persistently poor population between rural and urban areas and highlights specific regions such as the Southeast, Tribal areas, and Appalachia. Outlines contributors to persistent poverty including workforce development, lack of infrastructure, race and ethnicity, economic conditions, and more. Presents 4 case studies, including 2 rural studies, to highlight overall themes and make recommendations for improving conditions in persistently poor locations. Interactive map provides information and data on persistent poverty counties.
Additional links: Executive Summary, Interactive Map
Author(s): August Benzow, Kenan Fikri, Joanne Kim, Daniel Newman
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Economic Innovation Group
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Examines census tracts to identify areas of "persistent poverty," defined as an area with at least a 20% poverty rate for at least 30 years. Discusses the distribution of the persistently poor population between rural and urban areas and highlights specific regions such as the Southeast, Tribal areas, and Appalachia. Outlines contributors to persistent poverty including workforce development, lack of infrastructure, race and ethnicity, economic conditions, and more. Presents 4 case studies, including 2 rural studies, to highlight overall themes and make recommendations for improving conditions in persistently poor locations. Interactive map provides information and data on persistent poverty counties.
Additional links: Executive Summary, Interactive Map
Author(s): August Benzow, Kenan Fikri, Joanne Kim, Daniel Newman
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Economic Innovation Group
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Success Story: Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative
Discusses the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative's (RWHC) approach to supporting community health and economic vitality in rural Wisconsin. Highlights successful partnerships between hospitals, community groups, philanthropies, and commercial organizations.
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: Wisconsin Office of Rural Prosperity
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Discusses the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative's (RWHC) approach to supporting community health and economic vitality in rural Wisconsin. Highlights successful partnerships between hospitals, community groups, philanthropies, and commercial organizations.
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: Wisconsin Office of Rural Prosperity
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Last Updated: 2/6/2025